gled in vain;
For it tossed him and twirled him, then passed, and he stood
With his hat in a pool and his shoes in the mud.

Then away went the wind in its holiday glee,
And now it was far on the billowy sea,
And the lordly ships felt its staggering blow,
And the little boats darted to and fro.

But lo! it was night, and it sank to rest
On the sea-bird's rock in the gleaming West,
Laughing to think, in its fearful fun,
How little of mischief it really had done.

Ann Taylor (1782-1866) and Jane Taylor
(1783-1824), English writers of verse and prose
for children, have earned a permanent place in
the history of juvenile literature on account
of the real worth of their work and because
they were among the first authors to write
poetry especially for children. They published
jointly three volumes of verse for children:
_Original Poems for Infant Minds_, _Rhymes for
the Nursery_, and _Hymns for Infant Minds_.
Many of their poems seem a little too didactic,
but they were genuine in their ethical
earnestness and largely succeeded in putting
things in terms of the child's own
comprehension. The four poems given here
represent them at their best, which was good
enough to win the admiration of Sir Walter
Scott.

309

THE COW

ANN TAYLOR

Thank you, pretty cow, that made
Pleasant milk to soak my bread,
Every day and every night,
Warm, and fresh, and sweet, and white.

Do not chew the hemlock rank,
Growing on the weedy bank;
But the yellow cowslips eat,
That will make it very sweet.

Where the purple violet grows,
Where the bubbling water flows,
Where the grass is fresh and fine,
Pretty cow, go there and dine.

310

MEDDLESOME MATTY

ANN TAYLOR

One ugly trick has often spoiled
The sweetest and the best;
Matilda, though a pleasant child,
One ugly trick possessed,
Which, like a cloud before the skies,
Hid all her better qualities.

Sometimes she'd lift the tea-pot lid,
To peep at what was in it;
Or tilt the kettle, if you did
But turn your back a minute.
In vain you told h